They've been Started for Less
by avaatquevale2250
Summary: Modern Mash AU: Mary and Bash have been married for 10 years now. With the pressures of each running their own companies, Bash takes their family on a vacation to Aspen. When the kids see the fresh fallen snow, a snowball fight ensues. Little bit of romance, and a hella lot of cute.- Little one-shot given to me as a prompt for a fic contest. Bash x Mary. :)


**So this is the first of four contest prompts I have been working on!**

**This is for my friend Megan, who like me, is a huge Mash shipper! This is combined with an anon who wanted a modern Mash fic, so here you go!**

**Her Prompt: _OKAY SO FOR THE PROMPT CONTEST THING I would LOVe to see Bash and Mary having a snowball fight with their kids about nine or ten years down the line. Bash has their oldest daughter on his team and Mary has their two younger children on her team. I also need mini snow forts to hide behind and Mary being super strategic and planned with the littler kids and Bash trying to plan but eventually being like frick it and blitzing at them._**

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Mary couldn't believe their luck. She stood at the window, watching the snow softly fall. After a tense marriage with her former husband, she had finally found happiness of her own. Bash and she had been married for almost ten years now. It was startling how much she loved him. She never should have turned him down.

She had loved them both, she knew that, but Francis was what was comfortable to her then. She was frightened of what her and Bash had. It was so different that what she had with Francis. Bash brought out something in her that Francis never could. With Bash, there was more of a heated passion. He believed in her and put her first. He trusted her judgment with the company absolutely, standing by every decision she made. Francis was a good man, but he always put his company first. While she understood why, it still hurt.

She loved Francis, a part of her always would. Their relationship was something special, albeit very short. Francis died about a year after they were married. The company he ran fell to Bash, as he was the next in line, and he had come to Mary for help. It was awkward at first, tiptoeing around Francis's death and their buried feeling for each other, but she realized something during that time.

Mary realized now that Bash was her other half; he was always who she should have been with. She was promised to Francis, and she never opened her heart up to the possibility of loving another. Her quick interlude with Bash the first time was simply a way to quiet the company's quarrels. Bash helped her through everything, and she finally saw how much she meant to him. She finally realized how much _he _meant to her.

Bash had promised her a wonderful vacation, and he had come through, like always. When he became CEO of the company, she felt like she hardly ever saw him. After her father's death, she had inherited her own company to run. She had been groomed for the job since she was a little girl, so she knew how to manage her time a lot better than Bash did. Over the years he got better, learning how to keep his advisors under his thumb while giving them enough room to take care of things he needed done. She had mentioned to him how she missed him, how their children needed to spend time with their father, and Bash readily obliged. He made every effort to be in his children's lives as much as possible, a fact she desperately loved about him. He had taken the whole week off, whisking away their family to this beautiful house in Aspen.

A pair of arms wrapped around her waist, and Mary couldn't help the smile that sprung to her lips. He smelled like he always did, of leather and something with a hint of spice. It was enchanting, and it called to her on a deep level.

"Good morning, Mary," he whispered as his lips brushed the hollow just underneath her ear. "Why didn't you wake me? It's too early to be up yet."

Mary laughed at the petulant tone in his voice. It was early. The kids were still asleep, and the sun had just barely risen. She turned in his arms, kissing him lightly on the lips. Bash's eyes were bright. He always looked at her like he was seeing the sun for the first time.

"I didn't want to wake you. You need to sleep," she whispered softly. Bash lifted his hand, softly stroking her cheek. Mary closed her eyes, reveling in the feeling of his skin on her own. All it took was the smallest touch, the quietest word, the faintest brush of his lips, and she was lost to him.

"Come back to bed with me," he murmured against her skin as he planted kisses up her neck, following her jaw line, and finally meeting her lips. She couldn't say no to him. He pulled away, a devilish smirk on his face. He grabbed her hand, pulling her back into their bedroom. As soon as the door shut, they were kissing once more. She barely noticed when he lifted her up on the bed. All Mary could think about was the way his hands grazed her waist, the playful way he would nip her neck when she tugged a little too hard on his hair. She couldn't get over the silkiness of his hair in her hands, the breathless way he would groan when their bodies pushed together.

"Mommy? Daddy?"

The muffled voice came from the other side of the door, along with tiny fists knocking gently. Bash pulled away, his expression a little disappointed yet resigned. Mary reached up, brushing his hair so it was out of his face.

"We aren't finished with this," Bash murmured as he leaned back down to brush her lips quickly. He got out of the bed, opening the door to their three children. Gwen was the oldest at eight, a perfect spitting image of Mary in everything but her eyes. She had inherited her father's bright blue ones. The next was Caston, six years old with the perfect blend of Mary and Bash's features. Holding his hand was tiny Aylee, named after her friend who died unexpectedly after Mary had first inherited her father's company. Aylee had just turned four, and probably had the sweetest temperament of off her children. She bounded past her father, straight into Mary's arms.

"Mommy! It's snowing! Can we go play?"

"Please, Daddy," Gwen pleaded as she tugged on Bash's sleeves. Bash knelt down to talk to his daughter, both whispering hurriedly to one another. Caston looked a little lost, and Mary motioned to him with her hand. His eyes lit up, and he dashed over to the bed. Mary began tickling him, and Aylee joined in, their giggles filling up the room.

"That's an excellent idea," Bash proclaimed as he swung Gwen around. Mary finally let up from tickling Caston, and she looked at her husband in wonder.

"What's an excellent idea?"

"I think our wonderful children all want to go play in the snow again, and we worked awfully hard on those snow forts yesterday. We shouldn't let them go to waste," Bash reminded Mary as he sat on the bed. Gwen scrambled over to them, hanging on her father's every word. Aylee looked up at Mary from her lap, and Caston gave her the typical puppy dog eyes his father was notorious for.

"Please, Mommy!" Caston whined.

"After breakfast," Mary decided as the lot of them groaned. "You're telling me you aren't hungry?"

"That's just the thing mom! We can have a snowball fight!" Gwen said excitedly.

"And the winner has to cook breakfast for the others," Bash explained.

"Me and Daddy versus you, Aylee, and Caston!"

Mary looked at each of their children's faces, all of them pleading to go play in the fresh fallen snow.

"Fine," she agreed. They screamed in joy, running out of their room to their own on the second floor. "Make sure you bundle up appropriately!" She called up the stairs. Bash's musical laugh filled the room, and he planted a kiss on Mary's cheek as he walked out of the bedroom.

"I'll make sure Aylee puts on the right clothes."

Mary nodded her head, and she couldn't help but laugh herself at her children's playful giggles drifting down from the upper floor.

* * *

"Okay, do you understand the plan?"

Mary's youngest two children nodded their heads frantically. They had been making a mountain of snowballs over the past half hour, while her husband and oldest daughter were trying to peek to see their progress. Mary had a plan and a backup plan.

"Are you ready?" she called over the edge of the fort.

"The real question is, are you ready, my queen?"

Mary rolled her eyes, her two little ones giggling uncontrollably. She handed them each a snowball and held up her hand. _One… two_…..

"Fire!"

Caston and Aylee began throwing snowballs over the edge. Bash was throwing them back at them, his non-throwing arm full of snowballs.

"Mommy! Look out!"

Mary ducked just in time as a snowball went whizzing over her head. Caston grabbed her hand, looking at her with anxious eyes. He was a little gentleman, just like his father.

"Gwen has a slingshot," he said breathlessly.

"Well, let's go dispose of it," Mary said with a wink. Aylee gave her a determined look, and Mary and Caston picked up the makeshift shields they had acquired. They each grabbed a bag full of snowballs, venturing out on to neutral ground. They advanced on Bash and Gwen's fort, as Aylee lobbed snowballs at their enemy the best that she could. Mary was handling Bash. He was so agile, darting out of the way of her throws, but he got pegged a few times. Caston was taking aim at his sister and her makeshift slingshot. However, they were quickly running out of snowballs.

"Mary, see where your plans have got you," Bash taunted her from the other side of a tree. She took aim, hitting inches away from his face. "Fierce arm you have there!"

Mary was just about ready to show him how fierce she could be, when he son cried out to her.

"I got it Mom! The slingshot is down!"

Mary looked over at her son, his eyes wide as he realized he was out of snowballs. Mary reached in her bag, her hand darting around. She had one snowball left. Caston raced to her side, and Bash got a wicked gleam in his eye.

"BLITZ!" Bash cried. They both ran after them, and Mary threw her last snowball at Bash. They were right behind them, throwing snowballs at them mercilessly.

"Aylee!" Mary cried. Her daughter popped her head above the fort, and Mary gave her the sign they had agreed on. Aylee got a determined expression on her face, and she disappeared from view for just a moment. She came out around the corner of the fort, a few snowballs crammed into her arms.

"I'll save you, Mommy!"

She lobbed a few balls at her sister and father, and then she tripped, falling to the ground. Aylee's cries filled the air, her piercing wail freezing Bash in his tracks. Even Gwen froze, concern covering her features.

"DADDY!"

Bash ran to her, not hesitating at all, just as Mary predicted. Aylee was sitting up, the tears flowing unrestrained down her face. She wasn't hurt, that much was obvious. Bash made sure of course, just like a good father should.

"What's wrong, princess?" he asked as he brushed the tears from her cheeks. Mary watched as Aylee turned her big brown eyes up at him, sniffling so adorably that it took Mary a second to realize that this was all a part of the plan.

"Daddy, I t-tripped trying to throw the snowba-ball, and," she sniffled, and Bash rubbed her consolingly on the back. "I just w-want to play with you-u and I-I won't ever win!"

"Oh, you will, princess," he promised her. He took Aylee into his arms, and she wrapped them around his neck. She peeked at Mary, and she could see her other two children trying to stifle their giggles. Caston must have told Gwen the plan. Aylee held out her little hand, and Mary placed the snowball in it.

"You promise, Daddy?"

Bash nodded his head, and Aylee pulled back, a huge grin on her face.

"Good."

She promptly smashed the snowball down on top of his head, the clearing filled with her children's righteous laughter.

"I'm hit," he gasped as he fell down in the snow. Aylee started peppering him with more snow, and Gwen and Caston joined in. "Treason! My own daughter turned against me!" He scrambled around with them, tickling them and playing with them in the snow. Finally, Bash was on his back, with Aylee and Castor sitting on top of him. Gwen had come to Mary's side, wrapping a loving arm around her mother.

"I didn't get you, did I?" she asked in a worried tone. Mary shook her head, planting a kiss on top of her oldest daughter's head.

"I tricked you, Daddy! I won!" Aylee cheered.

"Yes, yes you did sweetheart," Bash chuckled. He looked up at Mary, his cheeks red from the cold. Aylee and Caston scrambled off of him, and Mary offered him her hand. He took it, and Mary helped him up from the ground.

"So, what are you going to cook us for breakfast?" Mary asked sweetly.

"PANCAKES!" the children cried. Aylee jumped into Bash's arms, while Caston tugged on his arm.

"Fine, pancakes it is then," he surrendered. They yelled in joy, all three scrambling off together to the house through the snow. Bash stole a careful glance at Mary, his eyes sparkling in delight.

"You had this planned from the moment I suggested it didn't you?"

Mary leaned forward, placing her lips gently against Bash's cheek.

"Your pancakes are worth staring a war over," she mused. Bash pulled her into his arms, kissing her quickly before they followed their children into the house.

"I suppose they've been started for less."

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**Hope you enjoyed! Leave a review if you want :)**


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